SMART ORCHARD HARVESTING CART WITH ANALYTICS
An orchard harvesting cart with a receptacle, a position determining system, a load sensor, and at least one camera. As a plurality of harvested fruit items are collected and placed within a receptacle of the harvesting cart, image data from at least one camera is processed to evaluate at least one characteristic of the fruit items within the field of view of the camera including, for example, determining whether a harvested fruit item was ready for harvesting. The orchard harvesting cart also includes a position determining system and a load cell allowing the cart to monitor and detect when new fruit items are added to the receptacle and to correlate information determined by image analysis with geospatial locations in the orchard.
The present invention relates to devices for use in manual harvesting or crop (e.g., fruits) from an orchard.
SUMMARYOrchard harvesting may be done manually and collected product (e.g., fruit/crop) is collected in small carts, open boxes, and/or baskets. The receptacle is moved through the orchard and stopped at multiple different locations where product is removed from the plant/tree by hand and then place in the receptacle. When the receptacle is full (or when the picking operation/shift is complete), it is returned to a location for sale, packaging, and/or shipping. However, during manual harvesting, a farmer is not able to collect complete and accurate information regarding the crop yield including, for example, how much crop is picked from each plant and at which time throughout the season. The farmer also has limited information available by which to evaluate labor efficiency.
In one embodiment, the invention provides an orchard harvesting cart system including an orchard harvesting cart with a receptacle, a position determining system, a load sensor, and at least one camera. The receptacle is configured to receive a plurality of harvested fruit items as the orchard harvesting cart s moved through an orchard. The position determining system is configured to generate a position output signal indicative of a geospatial position of the orchard harvesting cart and the load sensor is configured to generate a load output signal indicative of a weight of fruit items inside the mobile receptacle. An electronic controller processes image data from the at least one camera to quantify at least one characteristic of at least one fruit item in the field of view of the at least one camera. For example, the controller may be configured to determine, based on the image data, whether a harvested fruit item is ready for harvesting or was harvested prematurely based on the image analysis.
Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways.
As shown in
The exterior cameras 105 are configured with a field of view that will cause the exterior cameras 105 to capture image data including the trees as the harvesting cart 100 is moved through the orchard. For example, in some implementations, the harvesting cart 100 is moved from tree-to-tree in the orchard and stopped adjacent or below each tree as fruit is collected from that tree. Accordingly, in some implementations, the exterior cameras 105 may be positioned to capture image data above and to the side of the harvesting cart 100 so that, when the harvesting cart 100 is stopped at each tree, image data of the fruit bearing portion of the tree is captured by the exterior cameras 105.
The example of
As illustrated in the example of
In addition to being configured to capture exterior image data and interior image data, the harvesting cart 100 may be configured to capture other additional data during & after use, to communicate with other harvesting carts and/or a remote computer system/server, and to provide other functionality.
The harvesting cart control system 201 includes a controller 203 with an electronic processor 205 and a non-transitory computer-readable memory 207. The memory 207 stores data (including, for example, image data captured by the cameras) and computer-executable instructions that are accessed & executed by the electronic processor 205 to provide the functionality of the harvesting cart control system 201 (such as, for example, the functionality described herein). The controller 203 is communicatively coupled to a position determining unit 209, one or more load cell 211, an exterior camera system 213, an interior camera system 215, and a wireless transceiver 217.
In some implementations, the position determining unit 209 may include, for example, a global positioning system (GPS) and/or a mechanism for determining position based on relative locations and/or distance of other systems/device (e.g., cellular phone antennas, mounted antennas, and/or other harvesting carts (as discussed in further detail below)). The controller 203 is configured to receive a signal from the position determining unit 209 indicative of a current geospatial position of the harvesting cart 100.
The harvesting cart 100 is configured with one or more load cells 211 positioned relative to the receptacle 101 and configured to generate an output signal indicative of a weight of the receptacle 101 and any objects placed therein. Accordingly, based on the signal received from the one or more load cells 211, the controller 203 is configured to determine a total weight of all fruit placed in the receptacle 101 and, in some implementations, may be configured to determine & track the weights of individual fruit items by monitoring changes in total weight as each individual fruit item is placed in the receptacle 101.
The exterior camera system 213 includes the one or more exterior cameras 105 and the interior camera system 215 includes the one or more interior cameras 107. Accordingly, the controller 203 is configured to receive exterior image data (e.g., image data including the fruit bearing portion of one or more trees) from the exterior camera system 213 and to receive interior image data (e.g., image data including the fruit items placed in the internal volume of the receptacle 101) from the interior camera system 215. As discussed in further detail below, the controller 203 is configured to process the exterior image data from the exterior camera system 213 to determine, based at least in part on the exterior image data, whether a particular tree in the orchard includes fruit that is ready for harvesting (i.e., ready to be picked). Additionally, the controller 203 is also configured to process the interior image data from the interior camera system 215 to determine, based at least in part on the interior image data, information about the fruit items that have been picked including, for example, a total number of fruit items picked, a number of fruit items that were picked pre-maturely (e.g., based on color analysis of each fruit item), and a specific type of fruit item picked (e.g., “Granny Smith” apples vs. “Fuji” apples).
Through the wireless transceiver 217, the controller 203 is able to communicate wirelessly with one or more external computer systems. For example, as illustrated in
In various implementations, the data received by the remote computer/server 219 can be viewed for each individual harvesting cart 101 and/or aggregated with other collected metrics/data in order to display reports and mappings indicative of extended periods of time (e.g., an entire harvest season or multiple harvest seasons over multiple different years). These reports, maps, and, in some implementations, the source metrics, can be viewed by a user through a display/user interface 221 coupled to the remote computer/server 219. Additionally, as illustrated in
In some implementations, in addition to conveying metrics and/or sensor data from the harvesting cart 100 to the remote computer/server 219, the controller 203 may also be configured to receive information and/or updated software/data from the remote computer/server 219 through the wireless transceiver 217. For example, as discussed further below, the controller 203 may be configured to periodically and/or occasionally receive updates from the remote computer/server 219 to the image processing routines used by the controller 203 to analyze image data captured by the cameras of the harvesting cart 100. In some implementations, the controller 203 is configured to periodically and/or occasionally perform a synchronization procedure in which data from the harvesting cart 100 is provided to the remote computer/server 219 and software updates are received from the remote computer/server 219. As discussed further below, in some implementations, this synchronization process may be configured to convey this exchange of data and software through cart-to-cart communication instead of or in addition to direct communication between the controller 203 and the remote computer/server 219.
In some implementations, the tree detection processing may include, for example, an edge-finding software mechanism to detect an object in the field of view of the image data and then shape-based software analysis to determine whether the shape of the detected object indicates that the detected object is a tree. In some implementations, the fruit quality image processing may include, for example, a color-based image processing technique configured to evaluate the quality (i.e., readiness for harvest) of fruit in the tree based on the detected color in the exterior image data. For example, when the fruit being harvested is an apple variety that exhibits a bright red color when ready for harvesting, the fruit quality image processing mechanisms may be configured to generate a color histogram from the exterior image data and to evaluate the fruit quality (i.e., readiness for harvest) based on an amount of “red” detected in the exterior image data. In some implementations, the system is configured to apply the fruit quality image processing only to the portion of the image data corresponding to the location of a detected tree (e.g., as indicated by the output of the fruit detection processing).
Furthermore, in some implementations, the tree detection processing and/or the fruit quality image processing may include one or more artificial intelligence-based mechanisms (e.g., an artificial neural network) trained to receive image data as input and to produce an output indicative, for example, of whether a tree is detected in the field of view of the exterior camera system 213 and/or whether a detected tree bears fruit that is ready for harvest. In some implementations, an artificial intelligence mechanism may be trained to perform only the tree detection processing (e.g., receiving image data as input and producing as output an indication that a tree is detected in the image data and/or an indication of a detected location each tree in the image data) or only the fruit quality image processing (e.g., receiving as input the image data and/or an identification of a detected location of a tree from the tree detection processing and producing as output an indication of whether each detected tree has fruit that is ready for harvest). In other implementations, the tree detection processing and the fruit quality image processing are combined into a single artificial intelligence mechanism configured to receive image data as input and to produce as output an indication of the location of one or more individual trees and whether each detected tree has fruit that is ready for harvesting.
After the exterior image data processing is completed, the cart interior processing is applied (step 311) to detect when a fruit item is picked and placed in the harvesting cart (step 313). As discussed in further detail below, the cart interior processing may include, for example, an analysis of interior image data from the interior camera system 215 and/or an analysis of the output signal of the load cell 211 to detect when new additional fruit is introduced to the interior of the harvest cart receptacle 101.
As discussed above, the harvest cart control system 201 of
In some implementations, in addition to or instead of determining the number of fruit items harvested from each tree, the harvest cart control system 201 may be configured to generate other types of maps. For example,
Like in the example of
Additionally, as discussed above in reference to the example of
As discussed above in reference to
In this way, the harvest cart control system 201 is able to track not only a total number of fruit items picked by a worker and placed in the receptacle 101, but also a number of picked fruit items that were ready for harvesting and a number of fruit items that were picked prematurely. This data can be collected and stored for later use in evaluating worker performance. For example, yield maps might be generated by the system indicating a number and location of fruit items picked by the worker when they were ready for harvesting (step 611) and a number and location of prematurely-picked fruit items (step 613).
As discussed in the example above, information tracked and determined by the harvest cart control system 201 can be used to evaluate and monitor the current status of the fruit in the orchard and also the performance of workers in the orchard. However, information collected by the harvest cart 100 can also be used to monitor and evaluate other aspects of an orchard's harvesting and processing operations. For example,
As discussed above, the harvest cart control system 201 is able to detect when a new fruit item is added to the receptacle 101 of the harvest cart 100. Accordingly, by using an internal clock of the controller 203, the harvest cart control system 201 is also able to determine the time at which the fruit items currently held in the receptacle 101 were picked from the trees in the orchard. After a worker completes a shift or completely fill the receptacle 101 of a harvest cart 100, the harvest cart is returned to a facility for further processing of the harvested fruit (step 701). This may include, for example, packaging for sale and/or transportation to a customer or another sales location. The system is configured to determine the time/date at which the harvesting cart 100 is returned to the facility (e.g., the current time/date indicated by the internal clock of the controller 203 when the output of the position determining unit 209 indicates that the harvesting cart 100 is at the geospatial location associated with the return facility) (step 703).
Operation details collected by the harvesting cart 100 while being used by the worker are stored to the internal memory 207 of the harvest cart 100 and transmitted to the remote computer/server 219 (step 705). These operation details transmitted to the remote computer/server 219 may include, for example, the time at which the first fruit item was placed in the receptacle 101, the time at which the last fruit item was placed in the receptacle 101, the time at which the harvesting cart 100 was returned to the facility, the name of the worker using the harvesting cart 100, and/or the yield mapping data. Upon receiving the operation data, the remote computer/server 219 updates aggregate user metrics for the worker associated with the harvesting cart 100 (step 707) and/or updates the yield maps and any other data maps compiled for the orchard.
The harvesting cart control system 201 is configured to detect when fruit items from the receptacle 101 are being removed, for example, based on a reduction in the total weight sensed by the load cell 211. Accordingly, the harvesting cart control system 201 is able to determine when fruit items from the harvesting cart 100 are being transferred to truck for shipping (step 709). The system again determines the current time/date when fruit items are being removed from the harvesting cart 100 (step 711) and, based on this information, the harvesting cart control system 201 calculates the storage duration for the fruit items in the harvesting cart 100 (i.e., a difference between the time at which the last fruit item was added to the receptacle 101 and the time at which the fruit items were removed from the receptacle 101).
The storage duration information is transmitted to the remote computer/server 219 and aggregated to monitor/compute other metrics including, for example, an average storage duration for fruit picked from particular locations throughout the orchard and/or an average storage duration for fruit picked by a particular worker (step 712). This information may be used, for example, to generate additional maps that can be used to convey this information to a user and/or to identify possible improvements that can be made to the efficiency of the orchard operation. For example, if the system determines that, for a particular location in the orchard, the duration between fruit picking and unloading of the fruit item from the harvesting cart is significantly longer, the orchard operations may be adjusted accordingly (e.g., by adjusting the assigned routes that workers follow while picking fruit in the orchard or by facilitating expedited transportation of harvesting carts from that location to the cart-return facility).
In some implementations, the remote computer/server 219 is also configured to utilize aggregated information from multiple different harvest carts 100 to determine and track various metrics for fruit items harvested by multiple different workers. For example, each individual harvest cart control system 201 is configured to determine when the fruit items from the respective harvesting cart 100 is loaded onto a truck. As a truck is loaded with fruit items from multiple different harvesting carts 100, the overall system is able to determine and track a list of harvesting carts from which fruit items are included in the same shipment on the truck. Accordingly, when the truck loading is complete (step 713), the system is able to calculate an average harvesting time and/or an average storage duration for the entire truckload (step 715) based on the metric stored for each individual harvesting cart 100 from which fruit items were included in the particular truckload.
Using the method of
As discussed above, each harvesting cart control system 201 is able to monitor and track a total amount of fruit items in the harvesting cart by quantity of individual fruit items and/or a total overall weight of fruit items currently in the receptacle 101 of the harvesting cart 100 (step 801). In the example of
As discussed above in reference to
In the example of
After harvesting of fruit items from a particular tree is completed (i.e., when the harvesting cart 100 is moved after a period of remaining stationary near a tree), the output of the exterior camera “fruit quality” image processing is compared to the output of the interior camera “fruit quality” image processing. For example, in some implementations, the harvesting cart control system 201 determines whether the number of “harvest ready” fruit items added to the receptacle 101 from the particular tree (as determined based on the interior camera “fruit quality” image processing) matches the indication of “harvest ready” fruit items in the tree as determined based on the exterior camera fruit quality image processing (step 909). If the quantities match, then the exterior camera “fruit quality” image processing AI is not retrained. However, if the metric do not match, then then exterior camera “fruit quality” image processing AI is retrained based at least in part on the number of fruit items that were added to the receptacle from a particular tree that were determined to be “harvest ready” by the interior camera “fruit quality” image processing AI.
To provide for this type of aggregation of collected data, the harvesting cart 100 is configured to communicate with the remote computer/server 219. In some implementations, this transmission of recorded/tracked data might occur through a wired connection (for example, by coupling the harvesting cart control system 201 controller to a wired communication port by “docking” the harvesting cart 100 when it is returned after use). However, in other implementations, as discussed above in reference to
In some implementations, this two-way communication of data (e.g., synchronization) is performed directly between each harvesting cart 100 and the remote computer/server 219. However, in other implementations, synchronization may be performed between two harvesting carts in situations where direct communication with the remote computer/server 219 is unavailable.
In the method of
As discussed above in reference to
The estimated geospatial position of the harvesting cart 100 can then be confirmed/validated by triangulation with other harvesting carts operating in the orchard. The harvesting cart control system 201 detects other harvesting carts within wireless communication range of the harvesting cart 100 (step 1107) and, using the wireless transceiver 217 or another relative position determining mechanism, determines an angular position of each other harvesting cart relative to the harvesting cart 100 and/or a distance between the harvesting cart 100 and each of the other harvesting carts (step 1109). In some implementations, each harvesting cart 100 is configured to transmit an indication of its current estimated geospatial location when the harvesting carts establish communication with each other (e.g., for the purposes of validating the tracked geospatial location) and/or when the geospatial location is requested by another harvesting cart.
Based on the estimated geospatial location of each of the other harvesting carts (as received from each of the other harvesting carts) and the determined angular position/distance of each of the other harvesting carts relative to the harvesting cart 100, the harvesting cart control system 201 calculates an updated geospatial position of the harvesting cart 100 using triangulation (step 1111). In some implementations, the harvesting cart control system 201 is configured to use this triangulated geospatial location as a new known origin point for further geospatial tracking based on the output signal from the IMU sensor. In other implementations, where the harvesting cart control system 201 is configured to estimate its current geospatial location using an AI mechanism configured to receive MU sensor signals as input and to produce an updated geospatial location as its output, the harvesting cart control system 201 may be further configured to retrain the AI position-determining mechanism based on the triangulated geospatial location determined based on the communications with the other harvesting carts operating in the orchard (step 1113).
Some of the examples discussed above refer to situations in which the harvesting cart 100 is operated by a worker employed by the orchard. However, in some implementations, mechanism described above (including, for example, the yield mapping and “fruit ripeness” tracking) may also be utilized in situations where a customer picks apples for purchase directly from the trees in the orchard. In some such implementations, the harvesting cart control system 201 may be configured to operate differently depending on whether the harvesting cart 100 is being used by an employee/worker or by a customer.
When the fruit picking session is started (step 1201), the harvesting cart control system 201 determines whether the harvesting cart 100 is being used by an employee/worker or by a customer (step 1203). This determination can be made, for example, by receiving a signal from the remote computer/server 219 or by selecting an operating mode by providing an input directly on the harvesting cart 100 (e.g., a signal from a mechanical switch). If the harvesting cart control system 201 determines that the harvesting cart 100 is being used by an employee/worker, the harvesting cart control system 201 operates in an “employee” mode (step 1205) which may include, for example, functionality discussed above for tracking metrics relating to worker performance and efficiency. However, if the harvesting cart control system 201 determines that the harvesting cart 100 is to be used by a customer, some of the collected metrics may be different. For example, the internal sensors and imaging hardware of the harvesting cart 100 may be used to make invoicing and purchasing more efficient for the customer.
In the example of
In some implementations, the system may be configured to collect identification and bank information (e.g., a credit card number) from each customer before they begin picking fruit items from the orchard so that the customer can be billed automatically when they complete their collection of fruit items that they'd like to purchase. In other implementations, a bill/invoice is prepared for the customer automatically and is presented to the customer for payment upon their return to the “check out” location.
Finally, in some implementations, the remote computer/server 219 is configured to use aggregated data collected by one or more harvesting carts 100 across multiple different uses from a current harvesting season and/or aggregated data from one or more previous harvesting season in order to predict workforce needs.
Once the estimated workforce needs are determined, the remote computer/server 219 begins to assign worker to shifts. First, the remote computer/server 219 accesses and analyze worker efficiency data aggregated based on information collected by the harvesting cart(s) 100 during previous usage (step 1307) and assigns worker shifts to meet the workforce needs based on the determined efficiency/capabilities of each available worker (step 1309).
Other factors throughout the harvesting season can influence and change the workforce needs as the season progresses. Accordingly, in some implementations, the remote computer/server 219 continues to collect updated data throughout the harvesting season (step 1311) including, for example, yield map data indicating a quantity of fruit items harvested from each tree in the orchard, fruit ripeness maps indicating the current readiness of picking of fruit items in trees throughout the orchard, changes in weather patterns, and changes in worker efficiency. The remote computer/server 219 processes this data to update the estimated workforce needs for the rest of the harvest season (step 1313), continues to analyze worker efficiency based on data collected by the harvesting cart(s) 100 (step 1315), and updates/changes assigned worker shifts as might be necessary based on the changing/current conditions (step 1317).
Although the examples describes above discuss various operations performed by different system components (e.g., the harvesting cart control system 201, the remote computer/server 219), in various different implementations, the specific computations, image processing, data analysis, and other functions may be performed by different computing systems and/or may be distributed across multiple different computing devices. For example, in the discussion of the method of
Similarly, in some of the example described above, the remote computer/server 219 is described as generating the yield maps (or other graphical reports based on data collected by the harvesting cart(s) 100). However, in some other implementations, the harvesting cart control system 201 is configured to generate the graphical map reports based on data collected by the harvesting cart 100 and to then either display the information locally or transmit the summary report/map to other systems.
In various implementations, the data collected by the harvesting cart can be used to calculate other metrics including, for example, an average speed of movement of the harvesting cart through the orchard or an average harvesting speed (i.e. fruit items harvested per hour or trees harvested per hour). Runtime total harvested product quantity can be viewed by an operator (e.g., the farmer/manager) based on the collected/aggregated data from the harvesting carts operating in the field to make sure logistical arrangements are being met. For example, based on the current harvesting velocity (e.g., fruit items collected per hour) and the remaining area of the field that will be harvested during the remainder of a particular day, the remote computer/server in some implementations will calculate an estimated total harvest for the day an automatically initiate arrangements with a transportation contractor to ensure that the entire harvest for the day can be collected and shipped from the orchard.
Also, the wireless communication capabilities discussed above can be adapted for other functionality in addition to or instead of those discussed in the examples above. For example, in some implementations, the harvesting cart control system 201 may be configured to determine (based, for example of in the output of the load cell and/or the interior image data) when the receptacle of the harvesting cart is nearly full and to automatically transmit a signal to the remote computer/server (including an indication of the current geospatial location of the nearly full harvesting cart) to initiate transportation of the full cart to the processing location (e.g., dispatching a vehicle to retrieve the cart & replace it with an empty cart or to empty the harvesting cart at its current geospatial location in the field).
Accordingly, the invention provides, among other things, systems and methods for detecting, tracking, and quantifying orchard harvest and yield metric using one or more harvesting carts equipped with a position determining unit, one or more cameras, and a load sensor configured to monitor a weight of contents in a receptacle of the harvesting cart. Various other features and advantages of this invention are set forth in the accompanying claims.
Claims
1. An orchard harvesting cart system comprising:
- a mobile receptacle configured to receive a plurality of harvested fruit items as the mobile receptacle is moved through an orchard;
- a position determining system configured to generate a position output signal indicative of a geospatial position of the mobile receptacle;
- a load sensor coupled to the mobile receptacle and configured to generate a load output signal indicative of a weight of fruit items inside the mobile receptacle;
- at least one camera coupled to the mobile receptacle; and
- an electronic controller configured to apply image processing to image data captured by the at least one camera to quantify at least one characteristic of at least one fruit item in the field of view of the at least one camera.
2. An orchard harvesting cart system comprising:
- an orchard harvesting cart including a receptacle configured to receive a plurality of harvested fruit items as the orchard harvesting cart is moved through an orchard, a position determining system configured to generate a position output signal indicative of a geospatial position of the orchard harvesting cart, a load sensor coupled to the receptacle and configured to generate a load output signal indicative of a weight of fruit items inside the receptacle, and an interior camera positioned with a field of view including an interior of the receptacle; and
- an electronic controller configured to detect when at least one new fruit item is added to the receptacle based at least in part on the load output signal of the load sensor, analyze image data from the interior camera to evaluate a readiness for harvest of the at least one new fruit item, track a total number of fruit items added to the receptacle, and track a total number of prematurely harvested fruit items added to the receptacle.
3. The orchard harvesting system of claim 2, wherein the electronic controller is further configured to analyze the image data from the interior camera to evaluate a readiness for harvest of the at least one new fruit item by evaluating a color of the at least one new fruit item.
4. The orchard harvesting system of claim 2, wherein the electronic controller is further configured to
- identify a worker operating the harvesting cart, and
- evaluate an efficiency of the identified worker by aggregating data collected by the orchard harvesting cart and previously stored data for the identified worker.
5. The orchard harvesting system of claim 4, wherein the electronic controller if configured to evaluate the efficiency of the identified worker by calculating at least one selected from a group consisting of
- an average harvesting rate of fruit items as a function of time, and
- a rate of prematurely harvested fruit items added to the receptacle as a function of total fruit items added to the receptacle.
6. The orchard harvesting system of claim 2, wherein the electronic controller is further configured to:
- identify a sub-area of the orchard based on a current geospatial position of the orchard harvesting cart,
- track a number of fruit items added to the receptacle while the current geospatial position of the orchard harvesting cart is within the identified sub-area of the orchard, and
- generate a yield map indicating a total number of fruit items harvested from each sub-area of the orchard.
7. The orchard harvesting system of claim 6, wherein the electronic controller is further configured to store data indicating a number of fruit items added to the receptacle for each sub-area of the orchard and during each of a plurality of defined time periods, and wherein the electronic controller is configured to generate the yield map by
- aggregating data collected by one or more orchard harvesting carts over multiple different defined time periods, and
- generating a yield map indicating a total number of fruit items harvested from each sub-area of the orchard during each of the plurality of defined periods of time.
8. The orchard harvesting system of claim 2, wherein the electronic controller is further configured to:
- identify a sub-area of the orchard based on a current geospatial position of the orchard harvesting cart,
- track a number of the prematurely harvested fruit items added to the receptacle while the current geospatial position of the orchard harvesting cart is within the identified sub-area of the orchard, and
- generate a map indicating a total number of prematurely harvested fruit items harvested from each sub-area of the orchard.
9. The orchard harvesting system of claim 2, wherein the orchard harvesting cart further includes at least one exterior camera, and wherein the electronic controller is further configured to:
- analyze image data captured by the at least one exterior camera to detect unharvested fruit items that are ready for harvesting, and
- determine a geospatial location of the unharvested fruit items that are ready for harvesting based on the positional output signal from the position determining system when the image data is captured by the at least one exterior camera.
10. The orchard harvesting system of claim 9, wherein the electronic controller is further configured to
- determining an identity of a worker operating the orchard harvesting cart, and
- generate an output report identifying the geospatial location of the unharvested fruit items that are ready for harvesting and the identify of the worker that failed to harvest the unharvested fruit items that are ready for harvesting.
11. The orchard harvesting system of claim 2, wherein the electronic controller is further configured to:
- aggregate data collected by a plurality of orchard harvesting carts over a plurality of different defined periods of time, and
- calculate a predicted yield for each of a plurality of upcoming defined periods of time based on the aggregated data.
12. The orchard harvesting system of claim 11, wherein the electronic controller is further configured to automatically predict workforce needs for each of the plurality of upcoming defined periods of time based on the calculated predicted yield.
13. The orchard harvesting system of claim 2, wherein the electronic controller is further configured to:
- determine a current time when the at least one new fruit item is added to the receptacle,
- determine the current time when the at least one new fruit item is unloaded from the receptacle,
- aggregate data collected by a plurality of orchard harvesting carts over a plurality of different defined period of time, and
- calculate, based on the aggregated data, an average amount of time that fruit items remain in the receptacle based on at least one selected from a group consisting of: a geospatial location in the orchard where the fruit item is harvested, and an identity of the worker operating the orchard harvesting cart.
14. The orchard harvesting cart system of claim 2, wherein the position determining system includes a global positioning system.
15. A method for monitoring orchard worker efficiency, the method comprising:
- detecting when at least one new fruit item is added to a receptacle of an orchard harvesting cart based on a load output signal from a load sensor, wherein the load sensor is coupled to the receptacle and configured to generate the load output signal indicative of a weight of fruit items inside the receptacle;
- receive image data captured by an interior camera of the orchard harvesting cart, wherein the interior camera is positioned with a field of view including an interior of the receptacle;
- analyzing the image data to evaluate a readiness for harvest of the at least one new fruit item;
- track a total number of fruit items added to the receptacle; and
- track a total number of prematurely harvested fruit items added to the receptacle.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 17, 2020
Publication Date: May 19, 2022
Inventors: Manoj Issrani (Pune), Pradeep Kale (Parbhani), Amit Wavhal (Pune)
Application Number: 16/950,544